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Kelly Osbourne

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Biography

While she first experienced the media spotlight as the baby of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne's family, Kelly Osbourne established her own colorful, rebellious persona as the teenaged star of the family's bizarrely fascinating reality series, "The Osbournes" (MTV, 2002-05). Her razor-like sass, teen angst, and fondness for fluorescent hair led to her own period as an iconic rocker rebel, and with the spirit of her over-achieving mum Sharon, …

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About

While she first experienced the media spotlight as the baby of heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne's family, Kelly Osbourne established her own colorful, rebellious persona as the teenaged star of the family's bizarrely fascinating reality series, "The Osbournes" (MTV, 2002-05). Her razor-like sass, teen angst, and fondness for fluorescent hair led to her own period as an iconic rocker rebel, and with the spirit of her over-achieving mum Sharon, she became a whirlwind of media and entrepreneurial undertakings. Following her moment at the top of the pop charts she launched her own clothing line, starred on British and American TV, and lived up to the family name with several stints in rehab before age 21. While none of her artistic offerings proved the stuff of genius, there was no shortage of fans who enjoyed witnessing Osbourne's journey from squabbling teen to overexposed tabloid sensation to her status as a pleasantly unpredictable pop culture personality.

Osbourne was born in London, England on Oct. 27, 1984, auspiciously nestled between her father's album releases Bark at the Moon and The Ultimate Sin. She was the second of three children of the former Black Sabbath front man and his wife, Sharon - herself the daughter of the Black Sabbath manager who fired Ozzy from the band. Sharon subsequently took over management of Osbourne's solo career and the couple was married in 1982, after which they had a family they raised largely on the road, where they were exposed not only to the prying eyes of the press, but to a violent, drug and alcohol-fueled parental relationship. The chaos was occasionally interrupted by post-rehab periods of peace and in 1995, Ozzy prematurely announced his retirement and sought a more stable home life for his three kids with the purchase of a home in Beverly Hills.

Over the remainder of the decade, however, album reissues and comeback tours raised Ozzy's profile even more, and with that came increased press coverage. In 2000, MTV visited the Osbourne's gothic mansion for a segment of the series "Cribs" (2000- ) and stumbled into the profane, bizarre, and unexpectedly touching world of a suburban family who warranted far more screen time than they had been allotted. The reality series "The Osbournes" debuted in 2002, documenting the day-to-day activities of practical camp leader Sharon, sneering pink-haired teen Kelly, bored wiseass brother Jack, and beleaguered acid casualty dad Ozzy, who, mystified by all the attention, declared, "It's just me using profanities and trying to be a father."

The series was an instant popular and critical sensation, and plump, spoiled Kelly Osbourne became the new poster child of angry, authority-scoffing, wannabe punk rock teens everywhere. With a razor wit and loud, curse-riddled proclamations of dislike for mainstream culture like Christina Aguilera, Kelly proved a scene-stealing energy boost to the series, which earned an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Series in 2002. Entertainment execs immediately smelled the marketing potential of Osbourne, with her outsize personality and endlessly creative fashion sense marked by a growing collection of tattoos. Despite having any experience as a stage entertainer, Osbourne was signed to Epic records, and in November 2002 released a cover of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach." Upholding that sturdy pop-punk tradition of the ironic cover of an old mainstream hit, Osbourne's appeal carried the song to No. 3 on the UK charts, even as critics showed little tolerance for her glaring lack of vocal chops and obvious stab at nepotistic opportunism. Overall sales of Osbourne's debut album Shut Up! were not enough to keep her on the Epic roster, and her overnight stardom and fast life dating punk musicians led to an early crash at the age of 20. Apparently having been raised as a witness to the dysfunctional effects of drug use was not enough to keep Osbourne nor her brother Jack sober, so in early 2004, she checked in to the famed Promises drug treatment facility in Malibu to address an addiction to painkillers.

Returning with a vengeance, Osbourne launched her own line of rocker clothing, began working on a new album, and in the fall of 2004 was cast on "Life as We Know It" (2004-05), ABC's drama series about three sex-obsessed adolescent boys. Straying little from her image, Osborne essayed an promiscuous Goth chick that Jonathan (Christopher Lowell) is attracted to but embarrassed to be seen with. Around the time of the series cancellation in spring of 2005, Osbourne relapsed and spent time in another rehab facility before emerging for the release of her sophomore recording effort, Sleeping in the Nothing. That album fared better critically than the first, and its electronica dance sound carried the single "One Word" to the top of the dance charts in the U.S. and UK. In 2006, Osbourne joined an ensemble of notable rockers to lend her voice to "Live Freaky, Die Freaky" (2006), an animated indie musical based on Charles Manson. She was also seen on British television as the co-host of the reality series, "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!"

In addition to being seen around with boyfriends Matty Durham of the band Fields, and Matt Emerson of the band Trash Fashion, Osbourne became a spokesmodel for the trendy British clothing chain Accessorize and was invited to participate in a children's theatrical production attended by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. Generally opting to spend more time in London than L.A., Osbourne hosted two seasons of the Sky One reality series "Project Catwalk" (2006-08), and served as a teen advice columnist in the tabloid newspaper, The Sun. In 2007, Osbourne made her theatrical debut on London's West End with a seven-week stint as Mama Morton in the musical "Chicago," though her performance was eclipsed by gossip over the significant weight loss that preceded her casting.

Though her image had somewhat softened since her initial blast of teen stardom, Osbourne found herself in trouble with the law in the summer of 2008 after she slapped a reporter whom she believed to be insulting her boyfriend, model Luke Worrall. The 23-year-old announced her engagement to Worrall the following spring, around the time that her family unveiled its newest media offering, "Osbournes Reloaded" (Fox, 2009) - a variety show that was instantly cancelled after an overwhelming number of U.S. markets refused to air its debut episode. Later that year, Osbourne returned to primetime as a contestant on the reality series "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ).